[4seasons]

Well I agree with the others, because more than once I have been on the high side of the coin. Just this week had my first experience w/ the customer divulging price. We were over double what the competition was gonna charge. I asked if we are both using same product?
yup same stone- pisa2 and brussell block.
same steps?
No steps are way different, yours are like the "cats meow" and his are just not what I want.
Can I see his estimate?
Well.... he just came in and verbally gave me a price. I don't really care for that.
ME-- get it on paper. we are bidding the same walls minus the steps-- see where the big discrepancy is.
I told you everything I'm doing ,get him to do the same thing.


he is bidding by the block! that's just stooooooopid!


Sorry for taking up your thread cochran, but when there is a huge price difference like my example and yours--- either someone made a mistake( estimating) or like someone else said.. just doing it differently is going to affect the cost.

[JeffreyScott]

Chochran,

The question going through my mind is -- how do these competitors represent themselves? If I were you, i would want to find out how they come across, and what the client perceives they are getting. This is key. Price on its own is meaningless, without understanding the competitors sales process, promises, presentation styles, creativity and ideas, range of abilities, other added value, and relationship building strategies.

You can start by calling them up on the phone during business hours, and see how they come across (compared to you)

You may know a lot of this already. These guys may be better than you in some places, and worse in others. The more you can learn from these guys, or at least about these guys, the more you can differentiate and grow your own business (though I hate to use price as a differentiator--I would rather see you making more money).

Jeffrey Scott
Green Industry Branding & Business Coach
"Captivate the right client, build your brand, grow your business!"
Jeffrey Scott!

[TrickyDick]

It has occured to me in reading all this that two or three experiences are not enough to base an analysis of the competitions pricing on. It also seems that there may not be a lot of competition at all where these competitors are working. If there are only a couple of contractors working in a certain area they may have just gotten used to charging highers rates because there was nobody around competing with them. Here we probably have several HUNDRED landscape contractors within a thirty mile radius. No company is going to survive very long charging double what others are unless their product and service is far superior. It sounds like this town may have been lacking a competitive marketplace and that you are trying to change that. If your product and service are really as good as the competition then over time you will start to get more work there and they will have to try to compete with you by lowering their prices. It won't happen over night though because if people are getting three bids on the same scope of work and one of them is way lower most people (including me) will assume the low bid is a throwaway. I have lost a few such bids to very low bidders and the homeowner is almost always disappointed. The one time they were not was when the winning bidder was a contractor who does not have one legal employee. His work is fine but I can't compete with that.

I would keep doing what you're doing but, like others have said, realize that when you are bidding against these guys you may have room to increase your prices. If you are higher, but still less than them, you will have the added credibility of not looking like a lowballer as well as the added profit on the job.

[Cochran]

I appreciate all the input on this subject. I think ya'll have made some great points regarding this subject and what needs to be perceived. I am starting work on client information packets to present at the initial meeting so the client will know from the beginning of the process what our company is like. A few clients have given me the go ahead to even include their contact information is I choose to do so (not sure that I want their info disclosed so openly, I'm thinking about a testimonial statement and then adding reference contacts will be given upon request).

I know it's all about value and perceived value, but I put on my blinders in this situation because I was a bit frustrated.

I am still talking with this client, and I think I am the front-runner for the job right now. The homeowner drove past some of my referenced work and was very impressed and they appreciate the plant variety that I used that is not the same cookie-cutter landscape the other contractors used that is in so many landscapes in our area.

[krantymery]

Sorry your thoughts does not collide that of mines ,so please i can't help u
thanks and best of luck.


***Nothing to see here. Please move along. Neutered spammer at work here. ***

[Fine Edge]

HUH? What does that mean?

[Stonehenge]

Originally Posted by Fine Edge

HUH? What does that mean?

It means someone with no mastery of the English language wants to spam the site.